


all that remains in these broken hearts of mine

by UnluckiestFridays



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Bittersweet, Friendship, Gallifrey, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, i love these two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:23:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22830883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnluckiestFridays/pseuds/UnluckiestFridays
Summary: Graham frowned in confusion, seeming to wrack his brain as he tried to decide whether he should know where that was. Then realisation dawned on his face and the Doctor let out a breath of air through her nose in a sigh."That's your planet, ain't it? Where you come from?" He asked."Yeah," the Doctor whispered.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor & Graham O'Brien
Comments: 7
Kudos: 132





	all that remains in these broken hearts of mine

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently the bbc left a clue for the Master's return in the season finale/s and im excited af cause they're my fave character and the more of him the better :)
> 
> Also, i love the doctor/graham friendship and need more scenes with them wandering off without ryan and yaz and solving alien mysteries

The dual suns in the sky glint off of the jagged edges of what had once been a perfectly spherical, glass dome encasing the wonderous beauty of the Citadel.

The Citadel now lay in ruins, though, beneath those jagged edges of glass. The Doctor could see it all from her position in the TARDIS doorway, legs hanging over the open doorway as her ship hovered above her planet left in ruins by a maniac. 

This time it hadn't been her to destroy her home and there was no way to bring it back this time. It and its occupants had once been saved from eternal extinction by her past selves as they relocated it to a little bubble universe at the end of universe, away from the wrath of the Daleks and the Time War.

Now, however, still in its bubble universe, it was gone forever.

Looking down on what was left of it, she watched forlornly as a stray wind picked up red dust and blew it away to where it dispersed silently in the air. The gentle winds causes flames to flicker and move slightly before they righted themselves as the wind disappeared like the dust.

Like the rest of her species. 

Her broken hearts clenched at the thought and she tried to swallow the lump in her throat but it stubbornly remained. She blinked harshly and a couple of tears dripped from her eyes to land on her cheeks. She told herself it was just the dust, reaching the TARDIS which hovered high above the ground, but it wasn't true.

She hung her head down low, unable to bear the sight of her demolished home planet anymore despite the fact that she kept returning day in and day out in hopes that something would miraculously change.

Something touched her shoulder and she bit back a gasp, turning quickly only to find Graham stood behind her, bent at the waist a bit so he could reach her shoulder as she sat on the floor.

"Doc?" He questioned lightly, and she looked away, subtly wiping away the remains of her tears.

"Yeah?" She asked.

She berated herself. Telling herself to just get up, close the doors, and take them somewhere else. Somewhere nice. Somewhere hectic, just enough so to distract Graham and let him forget what he'd seen.

But she was stuck. It felt like she was glued to the floor, her eyes locked onto Gallifrey and what was left of it. It wasn't much, she couldn't help but think.

"Where are we?" Graham asked.

"It doesn't matter," she immediately replied.

"'Course it do," Graham retorted, "you're cryin'. Don't think I've ever seen you cry before."

He was right, the Doctor noted. She couldn't remember the last time she'd cried, either. She didn't think she'd even cried when Bill had died. She'd been heartsbroken, of course, and shaken to the core at the sight of her. But she hadn't cried.

When she gave no reply, Graham shuffled around to sit beside her. He let out a heavy breath of air at the effort of moving to sit on the floor, then fell quiet as they both gazed out at the desolate planet.

They remained in silence for a while. It wasn't comfortable but it wasn't tense or awkward either.

"It's Gallifrey," the Doctor muttered a few minutes later.

Graham frowned in confusion, seeming to wrack his brain as he tried to decide whether he should know where that was. Then realisation dawned on his face and the Doctor let out a breath of air through her nose in a sigh.

"That's your planet, ain't it? Where you come from?" He asked.

"Yeah," the Doctor whispered.

The lump in her throat had made its return, making anything else hard to say. She tried to swallow it down once again, but it wouldn't budge and tears sprang to her eyes, mercifully warping her vision of Gallifrey.

They fell eventually, making her cheeks wet, and she choked on her breath when the ruins came into view again.

Graham placed his arm around her shoulders and she tensed at the unexpectedness of it, but then he brought her into his side and wrapped his other arm around her as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I know sayin' sorry ain't gonna do nothin', but I am so, so sorry, Doc," Graham whispered to her. His voice was thick, like he was doing no better than her at holding his tears back. "Truly."

A sob escaped her and she held the lapels of his parker coat in her fists as she brought her legs back inside the ship and close to her.

**Author's Note:**

> Lol, i wrote this in half an hour on my lunch break at work and almost made myself cry
> 
> Anyway, i hope you all enjoyed this and, as always, kudos/comments are greatly appreciated x


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